Osprey Charging is to install rapid electric vehicle (EV) charging across UK retail warehouse sites in a new partnership with Ediston.
The EV charging will be rolled out across the real estate firm’s portfolio of retail warehouse sites with the intention of opening up rapid destination charging to customers visiting brands such as Aldi, The Food Warehouse and Costa.
Each of an initial ten sites will host up to six Tritium 75kW chargers, which balance the available power to maximise delivery to the car.
The first site – a hub located at Haddington Retail park, East Lothian – is currently under construction. Further sites are expected to go into construction throughout this year, while further charging locations will be added to the partnership in line with Ediston’s expected acquisition of retail parks.
Osprey is to cover all the costs associated with installing and servicing the rapid charging points while sharing the profits, with this minimising the financial risk. The installation of EV charging will also help bring an added incentive for customers to choose Ediston’s sites, increasing footfall and dwell times.
Patrick Sherriff, business development director at Osprey Charging, said that retail parks are “prime locations” for EV charging, allowing customers to charge their EV while shopping.
“By ‘grabbing the grid’ and securing vital connections for rapid EV chargers before its competitors, Ediston is positioning its sites as the go-to shopping destinations for EV drivers,” he said.
This partnership with Ediston follows previous deals in the retail park sector, including with Brookhouse Group, Reef, M7, Northumberland Estates and more.
It forms part of Osprey’s goal of developing 150 rapid EV charging hubs by 2024 in a £75 million programme. In November, it opened its first dynamic charging hub, with the site featuring four high powered chargers utilising smart charging Kempower technology.
